


Congratulations (You've Won)

by nxymxrjr (KingPreussen)



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-04 09:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6652138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingPreussen/pseuds/nxymxrjr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>In Neymar's opinion, individual awards were bullshit.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Unless, of course, he was winning something. And even then they were a little bullshit.</i>
</p><div class="center">
  <p>---</p>
</div>Neymar wins.
            </blockquote>





	Congratulations (You've Won)

**Author's Note:**

> i'm not feeling very well right now and you guys and your comments are amazing! thank you so much for sharing how you feel about my stuff.
> 
> i'm still in the stage where my fics don't have any substance yet, they're just one shots while i feel out the characters. i'm also too busy to really go through and make sure that there aren't any continuity and spelling errors, so i hope if there are any they don't affect your understanding.
> 
> please tell me how you feel about this, especially wrt characterization and the ship!

In Neymar's opinion, individual awards were bullshit.

Unless, of course, he was winning something. And even then they were a little bullshit.

He rested his chin in his hands and watched players and executives mill around. Everyone had smiles plastered on their faces and champagne in their hands, except Neymar, who was content to broadcast his boredom to the world. He had been sitting at the same white-clothed table for what felt like _days_ , waiting for something to happen, and yet.

Someone sat next to him and he sighed. Hopefully they wouldn't expect him to talk much.

"You look ready to go home." Pale, pretty fingers curled around his wrist and he sighed again, much more relieved this time. "Don't worry, only a few hundred hours left."

Neymar glanced at Lio from the corner of his eye and pouted. Lio was smiling wryly, looking resplendent in his black suit and skinny tie. "I'd prefer sprinting drills over this. In the snow."

Lio chuckled and slid his hand from Neymar's wrist to the back of his neck. "I would too. But this is what you get for being so talented."

It lit a contented fire in his chest to hear Lio complement him on his playing no matter how many times he heard it. Neymar leaned into Lio's hand, his eyes half-lidded. "You're going to win. I don't know why I have to be here."

"For moral support?" Lio shot back, grinning now. Neymar swatted at him half heartedly before going back to leaning on his hand and staring at nothing.

This was better. Lio's hand was running from the base of his neck to his hairline over and over in slow circles, something that he thought he could stand for the next… what did Lio say? Several hundred hours? A little physical contact every day helped give Neymar the will to hold back his inappropriate crush on the Argentine, at least until he was retired and could write his tell-all autobiography where his love for Lio would come as a surprise to no one.

There was movement on his other side and Lio's hand fell away. Neymar whined in protest, glaring at whoever interrupted them, but it was only his other favorite person in the world. "Luis," he groaned, now lying flat out on the table with his forehead pressed to his arms. Barca's number 9 was much more receptive to his whining and complaining than Lio was.

Sure enough, Luis laughed (not _at_ him, really) and sat on his other side. "It's not that bad, Ney." Neymar shuffled over so his shoulder was pressed into Luis' side, and Luis took the hint, draping his arm over Neymar's shoulders and playfully flicking his ear. "I know you'd rather be playing FIFA but--"

Neymar shook his head. "I just want to _sleep_ ," he said, his voice muffled by his arms. Luis smoothed his hair down with the palm of his hand but didn't reply otherwise.

Lio leaned close to him, poking him in the side until Neymar peeked one eye out over his arm. "Luis and I planned our own award for you," he said lowly.

"That was supposed to be a surprise." Luis covered Neymar's ear with his hand playfully, pulling him closer. "Ney, pretend you didn't hear that."

"Didn't hear what?" Neymar mumbled. He sat up, displacing Luis' arm, but he just curled his fingers over Neymar's shoulder instead of letting him go. "Is it 'Worst Striker in Barcelona'? Or how about 'Most Annoying Brazilian'?"

"Ney," Lio admonished, his pretty fingers back wrapped around Neymar's wrist. "I know you don't compare yourself to anyone but _yourself_. And you're a phenomenal striker."

"Stop before you make me blush," Neymar said under his breath, earning a real hair-ruffle from Luis. "Stop!" he said louder, laughing, and attempted to fix his hair. He felt warm and awake now that they were both so close to him, talking to him, treating him like one of them. Neymar sometimes felt left out when they were together because of everything Luis and Lio had in common that he didn’t.

Lio's fingers tightened around his wrist; Neymar wondered if he could feel his heart rate increasing. "Just sit through this and skip the afterparty."

Neymar pouted again. "I wanted to dance, though," he murmured. Lio laughed softly and Neymar couldn't prevent the corner of his mouth from turning up.

Someone in an ill-fitting suit came up to the microphone and the room quieted down. At least it was starting, if Neymar wasn't going to have any fun at all. Then maybe he could get whatever surprise from Luis and Lio. It was probably something simple, like some clothing--Luis liked buying Lio pajamas for some reason, which was always funny.

Lio did get called up for an award. He couldn't imagine what it was for, because he didn't hear the announcement, too busy reeling over the soft kiss Lio brushed across his cheek as he stood up. It was such an innocent thing--he had done it before, at different events, but it froze Neymar every time.

The rest of the ceremony passed in a monotonous drone. Eventually they let Lio sit back down next to him and he placed his award on the table in front of them, resting his hand on Neymar's knee. Luis was actually listening to what was being said, hands folded in front of him, but every so often he would press the side of his leg up against Neymar's.

It was overwhelming, to say the least. Neymar wasn't sure if he should ask why they were… _on_ him more than usual, or just accept it, or run, but he knew if he didn't decide soon he would probably spontaneously combust.

His body decided for him when Lio lifted his hand from Neymar's thigh and took Neymar's hand instead, gently twisting one of the rings on his fingers. Neymar pulled away within seconds, standing and almost sending his chair crashing to the floor. He opened his mouth to offer an explanation to Lio and Luis' twin confused looks, but it caught in his throat and all he could do was turn and run.

Neymar's first thought was to take refuge in one of the bathrooms. It would probably get claustrophobic, though, and the last thing he needed was to feel more penned in. He wandered until he reached an exit without an alarm on it and pushed the door open, stepping out into the cool night air.

Here, away from the noise and the cameras, he could take a moment to breathe. "Fuck," he mumbled to himself, sitting on the top stair and leaning his shoulder against the cold metal railing. The touches that he loved so much got _too_ much and he could stand to be alone.

He realized too late that he left his phone on the table, so he didn't even have anything to look at besides the manicured trees and stone path outside the building. He spent ten minutes alone with his thoughts--mostly revolving around how he was glad Luis at least wasn't petty enough to give him the silent treatment after this. Lio was a different story but they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

The door opened behind him and he leaned his head against the railing as well. "I'm sorry, Luis," he murmured, figuring Barca's number 9 had come out to drag him back inside.

"Not Luis, but you're forgiven." Antoine plopped down next to him, grinning. "What's up Ney?"

They weren't the best of friends, but Antoine was always willing to dance in the tunnel before a game and Neymar could appreciate anyone who was as ready to dance as he was. They talked ever so often post game but Neymar had never seen him at one of these award ceremonies. He said as much, and Antoine's grin brightened.

"Paul invited me. He said he wanted moral support." Neymar glanced at his shoes and gritted his teeth. "Ney?"

"Sorry. I'm just… having some personal problems."

Antoine shifted a bit closer to him. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"You wanna dance with me at the afterparty?"

Neymar huffed. "Yeah. That's part of the problem."

Antoine paused, and then wrapped his arms around his stomach and leaned forward to meet Neymar's eyes. "Me?"

"No. God, no, Antoine, I doubt you could step on an ant on the pitch." Antoine laughed and Neymar knocked shoulders with him. "The afterparty. Luis and Lio said something about… I guess they had to tell me something? But now I've ruined it."

Antoine rolled his eyes, then slapped his knees and stood up. "You couldn't ruin anything when it comes to them. Just talk to them and it'll work out."

Neymar caught his lower lip between his teeth. "I hope so."

"Good luck." Antoine walked away; Neymar could hear the door open and close again, leaving him in silence.

It wasn't like Neymar didn't get enough offers from other teams. At least he had somewhere to transfer to if the whole "Barcelona" thing didn't work out. He was sure Simeone's fabled hell-training was just a myth, anyway.

When Neymar got so cold he was shivering he stood up and stumbled his way back inside. He wasn't quite sure the path he had taken to get _outside_ (he should have followed Antoine back when he had the chance) but wandering did help him warm up again. Things started to look familiar in just a few minutes, and the sound of people increased, so he figured he was going in the right direction.

"Neymar, there you are!" Luis strode up to him, gaining the attention of more than a few cameras. "What happened?"

Neymar smiled weakly. "Just felt a bit sick, sorry."

"No need to apologize." Luis took him by the shoulder and led him away from the dining room into a quiet hallway in the opposite direction that he had escaped before. Neymar resisted the urge to lean into Luis, sure that it would make him want to run _again_.

Lio was standing outside, his back against the wall and his eyes on the ceiling. He looked over at the sound of their footsteps.

"Ney," he said like they hadn't spoken in years. "What happened?"

Neymar smiled at him. "Luis asked the same thing," he said instead of a real reply.

"Are you okay?" Lio rested a hand on his waist and stepped closer, looking him over. "Was something wrong?"

"I think I just need to go home." Neymar felt his face burning at how close they were, and how much he wanted to lean down and kiss Lio, but he tried to ignore it. "I'm tired."

Lio looked disappointed. "I see." He looked over at Luis and squeezed Neymar's waist gently. "Can we give you your surprise now or would you rather wait?"

Neymar also turned to glance at Luis, who didn't look disappointed but also wasn't smiling. "If he's not feeling well I don't think we should," Luis said shortly.

"No, I'm sorry," Neymar replied with a placating motion. "I forgot. I don't want to ruin whatever you two had planned." He smirked at Lio, narrowing his eyes cheekily. "And on your big day, too."

Lio just looked at him for a moment, and then leaned in and kissed him. It was short and dry, just a press of lips, but when he pulled back Neymar felt like he couldn't breathe. "Um?" Neymar said about an octave higher than normal.

"He wasn't just supposed to _go_ for it," Luis said. Neymar took a step back from Lio who let him go without protest. Luis stepped around him to stand next to Lio, ruffling Lio's hair and laughing at him ducking away. "We were supposed to talk to you. About… us."

Neymar felt like he couldn't process anything anymore. "The two of you?" he asked, unsure.

"The three of us." Lio touched his own lips, still watching Neymar mentally flounder. "Well, you and Luis, and you and I."

" _Not_ the two of you?" Neymar tried to clarify.

Lio shrugged. "Luis and I don't really… feel like that about each other."

Neymar cocked his head, and Luis huffed another laugh. "Not that we didn't try. But we wanted to know if you wanted to try with one of us? Or both?" Neymar just blinked at them. "Or neither is okay too."

"Are you being serious? Are you fucking with me?"

"We're being serious." Lio twisted his hands together, looking somewhere to the left of Neymar with a self-deprecating look in his eyes. "Don't feel obligated. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have--"

Neymar decided then that, fuck it, he was already tired and still a little bit cold and if he was dreaming then there wouldn't be any consequences anyway. He cut Lio off with a kiss of his own, his hand cupping Lio's cheek to hold him close. After a moment he pulled back, pecking the corner of Lio's mouth before he dropped his hand.

Luis was smiling at the two of them like they had made his night. Neymar smiled right back, and then stood on his toes to wrap his arms around Luis' shoulders and kiss him as well. Luis was much less surprised than Lio; he held Neymar by the hips and actually kissed him back.

"Fuck," Lio said from the left of them. Neymar glanced over to see Lio staring at them, eyes dark and wide. "Ney, you're so…."

"Before the press comes." Luis kissed Neymar's forehead before lifting his arms away and taking his hand instead. "If you're not too tired, you should come to Lio's. We had a part two of your award ready, just in case."

Neymar grinned, part giddy and part disbelieving and part just fucking ecstatic. "Congratulations, Ney!" he cried. Lio shushed him, looking toward the next hallway that lead to the dining room, and Luis laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> don't worry, lio had ney's phone and returned it to him safe and sound.
> 
>  
> 
> [pogba and griezmann are friends :^)](http://the-fuckboy-dynasty.tumblr.com/post/134156059517)
> 
>  
> 
> i don't have plans for writing part two of neymar's award but i'm sure you can imagine it...


End file.
